Gun lobby offers to help value pay-outs

PEOPLE who have surrendered their firearms will know by December how much they will receive for handing them in, and the South Africa Gun Owners’ Association (Saga) has offered to assist the government in the evaluation process.

The Cape High Court on Monday ordered Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to come up, within 90 days, with guidelines about the amount of compensation to be paid to people who have handed in their weapons since 2004.

The Justice Alliance of SA and the False Bay Gun Club applied to the court, stating that the act requires that the minister come up with guidelines for the amount to be paid.

Saga spokesman Martin Hood said the ruling is a step in the right direction. “It is a positive ruling and it’s a start in a long process where the SAPS will start to comply with the Firearms Act.”

Hood said the ruling could lead to the payout of “hundreds of thousands” of rands. He said the minister is expected to publish the guidelines and invite the public to submit their input.

“We have experts who can assist the government to get proper evaluations for different types of firearms.”

Reacting to the judgment, the DA said it is unacceptable for the government to fail “to comply with legislative and indeed constitutional obligations”.

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